FE Awakening: Double Trouble
by Juliette Morbu
Summary: This is a dream, right? Am I really in Awakening! There's no way I can be! But it feels...it feels so real. Except, things aren't happening the same way they did when I played. What if...What if it changed because of me? Well, I played the game fourteen times before so I should be fine, right? With any luck, I won't die. Oh boy! I sure hope I know what I'm doing!
1. Chapter 1

"Nift, why are you staring at me like that?" my brother asks me, feeling uncomfortable under my stare.

"Nift?"  
"..." My brother got fed up with my staring and came over, waving a hand in front of my face. "Nift?" He knocked his hand on my head. He gave up and sat down on the ground, crossing his arms. "Alright, what do you need help with?" I smiled and pulled out my 3ds. He rolled his eyes. "I should have known."

I opened the 3ds to Fire Emblem: Awakening. I tapped on the screen. My brother immediately understood. "You want me to play it?" I nodded. "Alright. Sit down." he patted the floor next to him. I sat down and watched as he opened his file and began to play. "Do you want me to start it all over?" he asked. I thought about it then nodded. "Okay. Male or female?" I tapped the male. "What do you want him to look like?" I chose Build 1, Face 2, Hair 2, and Hair Color 9. "What about his voice?" Male 2 in Japanese. He nodded, approving of the avatar. "Name?" I pointed at him. "You want me to choose the name?" Nod. "Hmm...How about...Erm...How about the default name, Robin? No? Okay...umm...I don't know, Nift. Is there a name you like?" He handed me a piece of paper for me to write on.

"..." I thought about it and began to jot down a list of names. I finally wrote one down that I really liked. My brother looked at the name then at me.

"You want that name?" *Nod* "So be it." he gave the avatar the name Skye and chose the birthday. December 2nd. His asset was skill and flaw was luck. "Here goes. Premonition: Invisible Ties." I wrote down on a piece of paper and showed it to him. "I better pay attention? Oh, right. The cosplay is coming up soon." he smiled. "Thanks for ordering the cloak for me." he added. I waved away his thanks and watched him play with great interest. My brother was very good at Awakening. I made him play the game fourteen times just to study the tactics he used. "I should probably have Chrom attack him first to weaken Validar. Then Skye will attack and finish him off." My brother decided. I grinned when Validar collapsed to the ground and the cutscene began. I never grew tired of the cutscenes. "Hey, Nift, why did you want to name him Skye?"

I wrote on another piece of paper. He read it and cringed. "Oh...Sorry for asking...I had...no idea. How old was he when...You know?" He read again as I began to write. "Wow...He was young." I quietly sighed and tapped the screen of the 3ds. "Oh, sorry!" my brother apologized and began to play again. Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick had just found Skye and were heading towards Southtown now. A yell broke out from the kitchen.

"Mark! Get over here, quick!" Mark groaned and smiled at me, apologetically, handing the 3ds over to me.

"I'll be back, sis." He left the dorm room, leaving me alone. I silently sighed and shook my head. Mark was always busy doing whatever. We barely had time to spend together now-a-days. I flipped open my diary and began to write in it. The 3ds began to go berserk and make strange screeching noises. I covered my ears and silently yelled. I reached for the 3ds and shut it. What was wrong with it? That was the fifteenth time this week! I heard glass shatter outside and ran out the room into the kitchen, where Mark was flinging his hand as if it were in pain. "YOW!" he yelped. "Owowowow!? Oh, hey, Nift." He weakly smiled, hiding his hand behind his back. I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips in a way of asking what he had done this time. "Hey!" he waved his hands in front of him. "It wasn't me this time!"

"Daniel, you idiot!" I heard Naymee shout. "Watch where you throw that baseball! We aren't in a field, you know?!"

Daniel retorted. "I told you I was sorry!"

Naymee was holding back a slap. "Don't tell me, you're sorry! Tell that to Mark!"

"Sorry, Mark." Daniel muttered. I had the urge of punching some sense into the idiot. Mark noticed and patted my shoulder.

"It's alright, Nift. I'm fine." he tried to tell me. I knew he wasn't fine. I glared at Daniel then turned around, heading back towards the room. I could hear Daniel muttering as I left.

"How'd the mute even make it into this college?"

*Slap* "How dare you, Daniel! She's smarter than you, you know! I'm surprised _you _even made it into this college." Naymee growled.

Mark, the peacemaker, tried to calm things down. "Hey, now. Everything's fine. But, Daniel, don't ever refer to my sister as 'the mute', understand? If you do, I will take Naymee's place in knocking some sense into you." I smiled to myself. I had the best brother in the world, though he could be annoying at times. Daniel murmured a few things before speaking up again. "Why doesn't she even talk?"

Mark was silent for a moment. "She...Has her reasons." That was all he said. I could picture the pained look on Mark's face. Tears threatened to fall but I blinked them away. It had been years since I had verbally spoken with anyone. The last person I ever spoke to was my Mother, before she was killed. A lot of other things happened after that day, but I didn't really stop to think about any of it. I continued on my way to Mark and I's room. Suddenly, I felt dizzy and tired.

**Nift... **A voice spoke in my mind. I raised a hand to my forehead then turned to see Naymee walking towards me.  
"Hey, Nift. I wanted to apologize for Daniel. He hasn't been himself lately and-Woah, are you feeling alright, Nift?" *Shake head* "Hey, Mark!" Mark's head peeked around the corner.

"Yeah?"

"I don't think Nift's feeling too well." Naymee called back to him. Mark rounded the corner and walked to me.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked me. I shook my head then felt Mark embrace me. "It's alright, Nift." he ran his fingers through my hair. "Is it Daniel? Or do you not feel well? Do you want any medicine? We've got plenty in the cabinet if you do..." I couldn't hear anything else he said to me. Well, I couldn't understand. His voice became faint as my head began to pound even more.  
'_Mark' _I mouthed his name before everything went black.

* * *

A breeze? How'd I end up outside? Where was I? A voice interrupted my thoughts."Do you think she's alright, Chrom?" a familiar voice asked. I could swear it was Lissa's.

A voice that sounded so much like Chrom's replied. "How should I know? You're the healer, you tell me."

"B-but, I don't know!" Lissa sounded worried. "She should be waking up by now, I did my best to heal her...I don't know what else to do." Maybe this was Fire Emblem Awakening? No...This wasn't in the dialogue. I know the dialogue from beginning to end and this was not in it. A new voice spoke up, which I recognized to be the male choice number two in Japanese, except in english.

"Nift, wake up." Someone was lightly shaking me. He sounded concerned. _Why did he say my name? Who is he? Where am I? _"Why won't she wake up?"

"She must have hit her head pretty hard." Chrom said. I opened my eyes to see someone kneeling beside me and two others leaning over to see if everything was alright. I blinked a few times, trying to see if I was just dreaming. No...It was really them! Chrom, Lissa, and Robin were all surrounding me. Lissa was clinging to her mend staff-Wait, mend staff? She should only have a heal- and Chrom's expression was a look of concern. Robin looked exactly like the avatar I had Mark create. Build 1, Face 2, Hair 2, and Hair Color 9, except his hair was a little longer. He glanced down at me and noticed that my eyes were open.

"You're awake!" he gave a sigh of relief. I raised an eyebrow, baffled by all of this. I was dreaming, wasn't I? This couldn't be real. I sat up then, with Robin's help, stood up. I felt a bit dizzy, but Robin helped me keep my balance.

"You alright?" Chrom asked me. I nodded and rubbed my head. It felt like I hit my head against something. My vision cleared, allowing me to see them better. Chrom's blue hair and armor along with Lissa and her blonde hair with green eyes. They looked exactly the same as the Chrom and Lissa in the game. We were also in the field outside of Southtown. I spotted Frederick standing behind them, eyeing Robin and I with a wary expression. This couldn't be real. No way.

"Hey there!" Lissa greeted me. I acknowledged her with a nod, unsure of what to do. Robin placed a hand on my shoulder.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked. I nodded and shrugged off his hand. Chrom spoke up.

"What brought the two of you here? What happened?" he inquired. Robin scratched his head, trying to remember.

"I...I don't know...I can't remember." Frederick cocked and eyebrow.

"You don't remember? Milord, we cannot trust them. That man knows your name but claims he has no idea who you are and we haven't any idea about the young woman. They may be Plegian spies." he said, gripping his lance. Chrom raised his hand.

"Peace, Frederick. What if he speaks the truth? What if Lissa is correct and he has amnesia? I say we bring them to Southtown and settle things there." Robin started at this and I gritted my teeth.

"Wait just a moment! Don't we have a say in this?" He asked. Chrom chuckled.

"Peace, friend. We will hear everything you have to say in town." I tugged on Robin's sleeve, causing him to face me. I indicated to Chrom and Lissa. He understood.

"Very well. We will go with you." he gave in. A little further down the path, on cue, Robin and I stopped, causing for the rest of them to stop. Frederick's hand, I noticed, went to his lance. "What will you do with us? Are we to be your prisoners?" he asked, gesturing to himself and I. Chrom shook his head.

"Hah! You'll be free to go once we establish that you are no enemy of Ylisse." He answered Robin. Robin perked up.

"Ylisse? Is that where we are?" I couldn't resist the urge to knock him on the head, so I did. Robin glared at me. Frederick replied before Chrom could say anything.

"You've never heard of the Halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actor! He plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing!" I glared at Frederick then shook my head. He reminded me so much of Daniel. If only Naymee were here...Wait, no. Naymee would have taught Frederick a lesson right off the bat. Chrom groaned.

"Frederick, please! This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the Exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order. My name is Chrom-but then, you already knew that. The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa." Lissa threw her hands into the air and jumped on her tiptoes, annoyed at her big brother.

"I am _not _delicate!" she snapped. She smiled at Robin and I before continuing. "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Shepherds found you! Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

"Shepherds? You tend sheep? In full armor?" Robin asked, confused.

"Heh, it's a dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here." Chrom said. Robin and I turned to face Frederick, who was clearly proud of the title he was given by Chrom and Lissa. He bowed.

"A title I shall wear with pride. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, strangers, but my station mandates otherwise." Frederick told us. I nodded.

"We understand, sir. I would do no less myself." Robin spoke for both of us. "My name is Skye, this is my sister, Nift." I looked at Robin. _His name is Skye? But that is the name I told Mark to give our avatar...This is strange. Very strange. I must be dreaming of our file. _I thought to myself, but said nothing. I decided it would be best that Rob-Skye do the talking since he was a calm and collective person. I was a pretty Severa-type person, just not as bad as she. "I just remembered that...How odd. I suppose that is one mystery solved."

"Skye and Nift? Are those names foreign? Ah well, we can discuss that later. We're almost to town. Once we-" Chrom was cut off as Lissa cried out, pointing to the town.

"Chrom! The town!" Everyone followed her gaze. The town was on fire, smoke rising to the sky as the brigands continued to burn it.

"Curses! The town is ablaze! Those brigands no doubt! Frederick, Lissa, quick!" He began to run when Frederick spoke up.

"Milord, what of them?" he gestures to me and my supposed brother, Skye. Chrom is quick to respond.

"Unless they are on fire, it can wait!"

"Aptly put, milord." Frederick bowed. Lissa let out a frustrated and impatient groan.

"Hurry up! Let's go!" and with that, the three were off.

"Wait! What about-Hmm..." Skye pulled out a tome and looked at it then at Chrom and the others. He turned to look at me. I nodded and found my hand gripping the hilt of a blade. "Let's go then. They probably will need help." he began to run with me close behind. _Good thing Mark taught me how to defend myself...but can I actually fight? I never fought against a group of people...Only a one on one against Mark. It is just a dream...if I get hit, nothing will really happen. _I told myself as I followed Skye. We reached the town where Chrom, Frederick, and Lissa were about to jump into the fight. "Chrom! Wait!" Skye called out. Chrom's head turned in our direction.

"Skye! Nift, you followed us! Why?" he asked.

"I'm not sure myself, but we're armed and know our way around a fight, if you'll have us?" Skye showed his blade. Chrom nodded.

"Of course. More strength in numbers. Just stay close." he advised.

"Remember, we face practiced thieves and murderers. They will grant us no mercy. It is kill or be killed." Frederick reminded us. Skye nodded his head and looked out at the battlefield, analyzing it, calculating in his head. I already had a plan laid out in my mind but decided it would be best if he came up with what we would do. Frederick went ahead and attacked the myrmidon nearby. Lissa moved behind him.

"I may be delicate and I may not be able to fight like Chrom, but if you get injured-" she raised her mend staff with a proud look. "I'LL be the one stitching your bones back together!" Skye decided he would move and attack the Mage next.

"So, Skye, I see you wear a sword. Is it-Wait, is that a tome? You know magic?" Chrom asked. I nodded, silently answering for Skye.

"I believe so? I suppose I should check." Skye glanced down at his tome. I couldn't believe it. It was a Superior Jolt tome! He should only be able to use a Thunder tome!

"You 'believe' so?" Chrom repeated, taking a step back. "Perhaps I'll just keep a few paces behind you for the time being." Skye shook his head.

"No need. I can control it, I'm sure. Now how did this work again?" he muttered the last part under his breath so Chrom didn't hear him. "Ah, yes." He gazed at the magic as it encircled his hand and fixed his gaze on the Mage, who was ready to attack me. He raised his hand, murmuring a spell, and watched with satisfaction as it struck the Mage, but the Mage was still standing. I don't know when my feet decided to move, but they did, and soon, I found myself charging at the Mage, swinging my blade skillfully at him. It sliced his chest, killing him instantly. Skye smiled at me. I nodded at him then focused my attention to the battle. There were quite a few Mages, Fighters, and Myrmidons. They each looked pretty skilled and strong. Something wasn't right, though...My eyes widened as realization hit me. We were in Lunatic Mode, weren't we? Please let it be Lunatic and not Lunatic+!

"Nift, are you alright?" Skye asked once he caught up to me. I nodded. "If you say so."

"Still with us, you two?" Chrom asked.

"It's strange, Chrom." Skye began, watching Frederick attack another Myrmidon. Lissa healed the wounds he had already received. "Here on this battlefield I can...well, I can 'see' things." Chrom was intrigued by this statement.

"'See' things? Like what?"

"The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle...I must have studied this somewhere." Skye tried to remember but gave up.

"So you're saying you can size up the enemy at a glance?" Chrom summarized. Skye nodded.

"Yes, it would seem so. And perhaps more if I apply myself." Skye thought aloud. I noticed a Fighter had sneaked up behind Chrom as he was fighting and attacked him. Three hits with my blade only weakened the bandit, which made me angry.

_Just die already!_ I frustratingly shouted in my head and performed a silent critical. I saw red numbers that read 109 appear and disappear above the dead bandit. I stifled a laugh and noticed Skye and Chrom having difficutlty with two Mages and three Fighters. "A little help here, Nift!" Skye called over his shoulder. I maneuvered around Skye and struck one of the weakened Fighters, bringing him down on one knee, then beheaded him. Chrom dealt with the other two and Skye was able to defeat the pesky Mages, but more were coming. We finally reached Garrick after harsh fighting. Garrick laughed.

"Here, Sheepy, Sheepy! Come to the slaughter!" he cackled. Skye devised a plan immediately.

"Chrom, you attack him first. Nift, back him up, and once Chrom hits him, attack. I'll stay back here if you need help." Chrom nodded and charged, performing a critical.

"You're finished!" he declared, landing a powerful strike on Garrick. Garrick only stumbled back but remained standing and laughed at Chrom.

"Weakling." Garrick insulted Chrom. He then noticed me swiftly running past Chrom and at him. I was raging with anger and spotted the villagers he had captive.

"Just die already!" I angrily shouted in a high pitched voice, leaped into the air, performed a side twist and landed a blow from his shoulder down. I basically just sliced through him! I was shocked! Not only did I manage to kill him, but I spoke too! It had been years! Garrick fell to his knees.

"You...traitor..." he muttered before his dying breath escaped him and he fell to the ground, lifeless. I humphed and turned to see Robin and Chrom, both staring at me with the did-she-really-just-do-that look.

"Well...That's that, I suppose." Skye said. Chrom agreed and we caught up with Frederick and Lissa. "You did well, Nift." Skye complimented me.

"You didn't do too bad yourself." I replied.

"Too bad?" Skye crossed his arms.

"Don't expect...too much praise from me." I told him, still getting used to hearing the sound of my own voice. Skye smiled and shook his head.

"Yup. You're definitely the same Nift I remember."

"What?!" Lissa's exclamation caught our attention and we turned to see Frederick had declined the Villager's request to stay. "We're not staying?! But Frederick, it's nearly dark!" Frederick chuckled.

"When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land and make our bed of twigs and the like. I believe you mentioned you would be 'Getting used to this'?" Lissa was not happy.

"Frederick...Sometimes I hate you." she mumbled. I saw Chrom grinning at his sister's dismay.

"Quite the stern lieutenant you have here." Skye remarked.

"Stern's one way to put it! I can think of a few others!" Lissa declared.

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe." Chrom added.

"Duly noted." Skye and I both chimed. Lissa then swirled around to face us.

"By the way," she clasped her hands together. "You two were AMAZING! Sowrds, sorcery, and tactics! Is there anything you two can't do?" she asked.

"Indeed. Perhaps you are capable of an explanation of how you came here?" Frederick warily eyed us.

"We understand your skepticism, sir Frederick, but I'm afraid I've shared all that I know to you. Unless Nift remembers?" Skye replied.

"I'm afraid...my memory needs a little time as well." I replied. "But, I can promise that we are no enemy of yours."

"I believe we can trust them." Chrom declared. Frederick was about to interrupt him but Chrom silenced him. "They fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that is enough."

"And what of your mind, milord?" Frederick inquired. "Will you not heed its counsel as well?" _The dialogue is pretty messed up... _I thought to myself. _Shouldn't I have woken up by now? _Realization hit me. _What if this isn't a dream? _

**It is about time you realized that. **The same voice that had voiced itself to me before I had passed out spoke. I started, but luckily, no one noticed. I decided it was just me hearing things.  
"How about it, Skye, Nift?Will you join us?" Chrom asked us. Skye and I glanced at one another and shared a quick nod.

"We would be honored." we said in unison. Lissa looked very happy and I couldn't blame her. Travelling with a group that mostly consisted of men had to be boring. Lissa ran up and snatched my hand, running ahead.

"Milady! I would advise that you not go too far! You may-" Lissa glared at Frederick in an exasperated way.

"I know, Frederick! I know!" I hid a smile then noticed Frederick's horse was missing.

_Where does that horse disappear to? _I found myself wondering.


	2. Something's Not Right

"I told you-It's getting dark already!" Lissa moaned, dragging her feet along to catch up to her brother. "Ech!" She began to wave her hands about in the air. "And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over you and bite you when-Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!" Chrom, of course, laughed at Lissa's misfortune of swallowing a bug.

"Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character. Want to help me gather some firewood?" he asked her. Lissa unclasped her hands and gagged.

"Tpht! Tpht! YEEEEEEEUCK! Ew! I think I swallowed it!" she exclaimed then whirled around and stomped her foot. "I'll pass on finding firewood, _thank-you." _She threw her hands up in the air in a I-give-up motion before declaring, "I believe I've had _quite _enough character building for one day." With that, Lissa plopped down on the ground.

"We should probably think about food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Skye spoke up. I shook my head at him.

"Of course you are." I murmured.

"Can you blame me? I'm-"

"A growing boy, I know." I finished for him. "You guys can head off and hunt. I'll clear the campsite." I said.

"Are you sure?" Chrom asked me.

"Yeah, now shoo." I waved them away then set to work. I cleared all the pebbles and rocks -So Frederick doesn't lecture me later- then gathered sticks for the firewood. I searched about the area and found good sized logs we could use for sitting. I picked them up and dragged them over, setting them in a circle around the sticks. I then got to work starting the fire. Luckily, I brought my pouch filled with the things I would need. I searched about it finding my mechanical pencils, journals, flashlight, candy, food, lighter, and-wait! Lighter! I grasped the lighter and took it out of my bag. When Lissa wasn't looking, I started the fire. It was a pretty good sized fire and got a bit bigger. Lissa turned and saw it, her eyes going wide.

"Woah! That's even bigger than Frederick's famous fires!" she immediately moved herself so she was sitting by the fire to warm up. "So, Nift, where are you from?" Lissa asked me.

"Skye and I are originally from Plegia, but we did not grow up in Plegia our whole lives. Now that I think about it, there is really no place we can call home. We were always up and about, moving here and there. We've been everywhere, basically." I lied to her. I did feel bad, but I had to. Lissa listened intently.  
"Have you been overseas?" she randomly asked.

"Yes. We have visited Valm and Chon'sin on occasion."

"Awesome! Tell me about it!" she demanded. I did. I told her all that I knew from the game. She was pretty interested in it and continued to listen. Later, we were sitting in silence. "Nift, when we first met you in the field...why didn't you speak? I mean, you became a little talkative after we left Southtown but..."

"..." Lissa noticed my discomfort and spoke again.

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine!"

"No. It's alright. Though it is a topic I do not like to discuss, you have a right to know." I said. She gave me a questioning look.

"What do you mean I 'have a right to know'?"

"You are royalty, are you not?" Her eyes went a bit wide.

"You knew?"

"It was not that hard to figure out. It would explain why Frederick is tolerant to your teasing him and why he refers to you as 'milord' and 'milady'. The big giveaway was the Brand on your brother's arm." I answered.

"Yeah...That would give everything away, I guess. Where is he anyways? He, Frederick, and Skye should be back by now." She huffed. "I just hope they don't plan on having bear meat for tonight's dinner. It's disgusting!"

"I've never had bear meat...I would prefer venison, but I'm not much of a picky person." I said, thankful that she accidentally changed the subject without realizing it.

"Let's hope it's venison!" Lissa laid back, placing her head on top of her hands and stared at the sky. I followed her gaze but found the sky twinkling with stars. It was a pretty nice sight. There were so many! Soon enough, Chrom and the other strolled over with a bear slung over Frederick's horse. Where the heck did it come from?! Lissa's expression was one of those one in a million faces! It mixed with horror and disgust and a few other emotions. I bit back a laugh. We all sat down and waited for Frederick to finish cooking the bear.

* * *

I stared at the bear meat in my hands, debating on whether I should try it or not. Skye was eating away without a second thought. I guess he really was hungry. Chrom was also eating the bear meat. Frederick and Lissa stared at it with disgust. Chrom was the first to pierce the silence than hung o'er us.  
"Mmm! It's been too long since I last had bear meat! Delicious!" He glanced over at Lissa and frowned a bit. "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in." Lissa shook her head in a way that made her pigtails whack her face.

"Pass! Gods! Couldn't you spear us an animal normal people eat for once?!" she sighed, her shoulders slumping a bit. "I mean, come on! Who eats bear?! You're meddling with the food chain! Right, Skye? Um...Skye? *Sigh* I guess people would eat anything if they hadn't eaten for days. What about you, Nift?"

"Well, if I remember correctly, humans are on the top of the food chain. We do practically eat anything." I pointed out.

"Just eat it, Lissa. Meat's meat." Chrom hinted a smile. I guess there is never a boring day that passes if you have Lissa around.

"Since when did meat smell like old boots?! Wait, I take that back-boots smell better!" Lissa groaned, giving up. That's when Frederick decided to speak up.

"Every experience makes us stronger, milady. Even those we don't enjoy."

"Really? Then why don't I see YOU eating it, Frederick?" Lissa demanded to know. Frederick quickly came up with an excuse. It was a pretty lame one if you ask me.

"Me? Oh well...I'm not hungry...I had a large lunch! Yes, quite."

"Or someone just doesn't like eating bear meat?" I suggested.

"It isn't that I do not like eating bear meat, it is just..." Frederick didn't know what to say.

I didn't say anything, staring at the meat in my hands. "Hmmm...Should I...?" I began my silent debate once again.

"Give it a try. It's better than you think." Chrom assured me. I decided I should. I took a bite and chewed. At first, I wanted to gag, but then, I got used to the taste and decided it was better than nothing. "How was it?"

"It wasn't too bad." I answered and nibbled on the meat until I got full.

"I suppose I will take first watch." Frederick volunteered.

"No, that's alright, Frederick. I'll take first watch. You can have second." Chrom told the Great Knight.

"But milord, you need your rest. We have a long march tomorrow."

"I know, Frederick, and I'm fine. You go ahead and rest. All of you should rest." Chrom suggested. I leaned back against the log, using my bag as a pillow, and stared at the fire. I didn't want to go to sleep. Lissa had no objections against sleeping. She came over to me and placed her head on my lap. Chrom was about to say something but I shook my head. He gave me the are-you-sure look. I nodded and saw that Lissa was already asleep. Man, she must have been tired. I closed my eyes to rest a bit as well.

* * *

I woke up a few hours later and noticed Chrom was still on watch. He continued to watch the fire's flames dance then averted his gaze to where Lissa was. She had moved and was now curled up by my side. I sat up and took off my cloak, placing it onto the shivering Princess then looked at Skye, who looked pretty warm wrapped up in his cloak.

"Nift? You should get some rest." Chrom whispered.

"I can't sleep." I lied, stifling a yawn. I stood up, stretching a bit, trying to wake myself up a bit more. "It's pretty quiet..." I remarked. Chrom caught on.

"Indeed. Too quiet. I think I'll have a look around." He stood up as silently as he could. Lissa, unlike in the game, did not wake up. She stirred but rolled over, clutching the cloak, and fell silent again.

"Not alone, you won't. I'll go with you."

"Thank-you, Nift." Chrom smiled then went his way with me following close behind. We stopped a little further down the path. I chose to take Lissa's part in the game.

"It's quiet...Where did all the birds go?"

"Something's very wrong here." Chrom's eyes slowly studied our surroundings. The ground suddenly began to quake and tremble very violently. It threw me off balance. Thankfully, Chrom -who miraculously kept his balance- grabbed and pulled me close. "What manner of madness-Nift, stay close!"

"Um...?" I didn't even try to point out the fact that I was _pretty _close to him. Chrom's head snapped to the right. I looked and saw the trees leaping out of the ground as if there was something very large charging at us from underground.

"Nift, run." Chrom told me.

"Wh-"

"I mean it!" he shoved me forward, urging me to go. "Go!" I bolted in a random direction. Chrom watched as the ground raised and lava began to spurt out of the ground. He ran off and somehow managed to get in front of me. "Hey! This way!" he gestured for me to follow. We ran until Chrom decided it was time to stop and catch our breath. I happened to notice the portal appearing in the sky.

"Chrom, what is that?" I asked, pointing at the sky. Chrom squinted to get a better look. Three Risen appeared, slowly escaping the portal, then fell into the forest with a _thud. _Chrom immediately placed himself between me and the Risen. The Risen stood up and growled at Chrom, black smoke escaping from within its mouth.

"What are those things?" Chrom wondered aloud, unsheathing Falchion as I gripped my blade. It was a pretty sinister looking blade. It was midnight blue with silver in the middle of it. The silver part had engravings in it but I didn't bother to read it, considering the situation we were in.

"Risen." I whispered the answer. One charged and lunged at Chrom. Chrom acted quickly, swinging Falchion and slicing the Risen in half. The Risen turned its head all the way around to look at Chrom then flung its axe at him. Chrom's blade hit right underneath the metal and they held it there until Chrom was able to push the Risen away and finish it off. I noticed one of the Risen were coming at me and prepared myself. It attacked and I defended myself, parrying each of its blows. Our weapons finally got stuck and it became a strength contest. I nearly succeeded, but the Risen -Which proved to be stronger than I originally thought- would push back. It pushed again and I bent back so the axe flew right over my head. I whipped around and sliced it across the chest then again, and again, beating it until it vanished into mist. once the mist cleared, I realized the other Risen Chrom should have been taking care of was standing right there, his axe in mid-swing. "Dang it! Yowch!?" The axe hit me, sending me flying back.

"Nift!" Chrom shouted, sprinting my direction. He knew he wouldn't reach me in time, and I knew I had better get my sword or I was a goner. I tried reaching for my sword but it was too far for me to reach.

"Just like in those darn movies!" I muttered under my breath, attempting to grasp my blade again. The Risen was now on me. I turned around and scooted away, drawing close to my sword, but the Risen was catching up. It raised its weapon high into the air and brought it down just as I had finally grabbed the hilt of my sword. I jumped back, avoiding getting hit, and charged at the undead creature. I heard someone else running up to the Risen and when I swung my sword to finish off the Risen, another figure appeared and did the same. At first, I thought it was Masked 'Marth' then realized it wasn't. Instead, it was another masked person who wore an Ylissean cloak and a mask that covered half his/her face. His/her hair wasn't navy blue like Chrom's, but a silky black. Chrom was instantly by my side, relieved that I wasn't hurt and fixed his gaze on the person standing before us.

"Quite an entrance. What's your name?" Chrom asked the figure, who looked over his shoulder at us.

"...You may call me Marth."

_Wait...Who is he? If he's Marth then...Wait, how is he Marth? Where's Lucina? Why isn't she here? Uh-oh...Don't tell me I've messed up the game! This is not good. Not good at all!  
_

* * *

I flinched when I heard an inhuman sound, then realized it was a scream. My eyes widened as I recognized it as Lissa. Chrom whipped around and dashed away.

"Lissa!"

"We must hurry!" Masked Marth told me.

"Right." I followed behind him. I tried to get a glimpse of his blade, but it was too dark to see what it looked like. Chrom was far ahead and soon, we lost sight of him. 'Marth' and I came to a stop. "Hmm...Let's see." I dropped down to the ground and inspected it. "He went north, where he met up with Frederick...then they went East. But where are Skye and Lissa?" I stood up. 'Marth' walked over to a burned tree and noticed some ripped fabric hanging off of it.

"Here." he called me over.

"Part of Skye's cloak." I spotted the footprints that led further east near the field where the Risen were. "I know where they are. Follow me."

"Of course." 'Marth' did as he was told and obediently followed as I leaped over fallen trees and burned debris. We finally reached the field where Skye was protecting Lissa with Chrom and Frederick trying to reach them as a horde of Risen swarmed the field. Skye blocked another blow from a Risen. After blocking it, his killing edge snapped and broke. 'Marth' rushed off and saved him from being skewered by the Risen's axe. Lissa screamed, thinking she had just witnessed Skye's death then opened her eyes to find 'Marth' had rescue him. 'Marth' knocked the Risen away and slayed it. Two Risen then ganged up on him. "A little help here." he called over to Skye, who nodded and killed one Risen while 'Marth' dealt with the other. I ran over to Lissa.

"Come with me. I think Frederick needs to be healed." _Surprise, surprise. Funny how he was the best unit Mark had when he was playing and now... _Lissa clung to my arm as we maneuvered around Risen, with me slaying a few of them, and finally reached Chrom and the wounded Great Knight. Lissa healed Frederick's wound and Skye ordered Lissa to stay with him while Chrom and I took on the Risen in the west of the field and Skye, with 'Marth', faced the ones in the east. "Where are Sully and Virion? They should be here by now." I looked around but found no sign of the two.

"These creatures...Are stronger...than they...look!" Chrom grunted as he shoved a Risen away from him and killed it.

"Yup, we're definitely in Lunatic Mode. Dang it, Naga. What did I ever do to deserve this?" I gripped my blade. "Chrom, we should only target the ones with Axes and avoid those with bows and swords." I advised. Chrom nodded. I fought beside Chrom as we faced the chief. "Something isn't right. Why hasn't Sully arrived? Where's Ruffles? What happened to Lucina and who is that 'Marth'?" I shook my head, clearing the thoughts out of my mind and devised a plan. "This guy has a hand axe...so he can reach us from a certain distance..." The Chief threw its hand axe at Chrom, who leaped back to avoid it and was about to recover when the Risen took out another hand axe and raised it into the air. My hand shot out in front of me and a blast of Forseti magic rushed out of it, sending the hand axe it had just thrown back at it.

"Eeeh?" the Risen took a step back but was still hit.

"You're end has come!" Chrom leaped into the air, covering the whole distance and slammed Falchion down on the Chief. I blinked a couple times, not believing what I had just seen.

"How on Earth..."

"Good. With the Chief down, they should retreat." Skye panted as he reached us with Lissa and Frederick close behind.

"Thank the Gods everyone is safe." Frederick gave a sigh of relief.

"Thank the masked man who saved me! if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be here!" Lissa announced. _Wait...She was saved by a masked man...I was helped by a masked man...But, they can't be the same person since this 'Marth' was with me when we heard Lissa scream...Perhaps Lucina is here. _I looked to see Lucina hiding in the forest behind Skye and Lissa, gesturing to 'Marth', who sneaked away before Chrom or the others noticed. _Who is he? _"Huh? Where'd he go?" Lissa did a full 360 trying to locate Lucina.

"It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again." Frederick told the Princess. "But for now I'm concerned about the capitol. We should make haste."

"Oh, I hope the capitol's alright!" Lissa played with her fingers, nervously. "Oh, by the way, Nift, here's your cloak. Thanks for letting me use it."

"No problem."

"Captain Chrom!" I heard a familiar voice call out. _Now Sully decided to show up? _

"Sully?" Chrom and Lissa chimed. Sully immediately knew that we had been battling.

"Agh, I knew I shouldn'ta left 'em! Gah! If only I had gotten here earlier! I would have taught them ash-faced freaks a lesson by shoving my lance up their-"

"Hold, milady!"

"HRAAAAH!" Sully, very agitated, swung around and kicked him in the chest, knocking him flat on his back and pointed her lance at him. "Try anything funny, _again, _Ruffles, and I w_ill _kill you!" she threatened. Lissa and I tried to hold back our laughter at Virion's face, but one look at Skye's expression had us howling with laughter.


End file.
